Summary

How the smile and fortitude of a child actress revived a nation.

Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements roughly twenty times daily; she rivaled FDR and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. Her portrait brightened the homes of countless admirers: From a black laborer’s cabin in South Carolina and young Andy Warhol’s house in Pittsburgh to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s recreation room in Washington, DC, and gangster “Bumpy” Johnson’s Harlem apartment. A few years later her smile cheered the secret bedchamber of Anne Frank in Amsterdam as young Anne hid from the Nazis.

For four consecutive years Shirley Temple was the world’s box-office champion, a record never equaled. By early 1935 her mail was reported as four thousand letters a week, and hers was the second-most popular girl’s name in the country.

What distinguished Shirley Temple from every other Hollywood star of the period - and everyone since - was how brilliantly she shone. Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated optimism and plucky good cheer that lifted the spirits of millions and shaped their collective character for generations to come. Distinguished cultural historian John F. Kasson shows how the most famous, adored, imitated, and commodified child in the world astonished movie goers, created a new international culture of celebrity, and revolutionized the role of children as consumers.

Tap-dancing across racial boundaries with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, foiling villains, and mending the hearts and troubles of the deserving, Shirley Temple personified the hopes and dreams of Americans. To do so, she worked virtually every day of her childhood, transforming her own family as well as the lives of her fans.

Facts, Facts, Facts

I love Shirley Temple and I got this book as I wanted to know about HER and HER LIFE. This book was filled with facts that didn't really tell me about the real Shirley Temple. It told me all about this history of the USA at the time but not really what I was expection at all. I was very disappointing.

Brilliant detail

I have studied Shirley Temple for years and so going into this book (released so soon after her death) I was cautious. But it is very well detailed and captures everything very well across several decades, I was glad to have the chapters at the end mention her private life, finances and later career which are not so detailed in her autobiography. The book is neutral in tone, which I think is important with focus on celebrity culture, it also meant that you were given new stories and research that make Shirley seem much more realistic as a person. You will certainly see far beyond her screen persona.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Amazon Customer

01-01-15

How does this child star fit in with her times?

During the Depression, people wanted escapist fare at the movies. The Shirley Temple pictures all were carefully crafted to deliver this. Director Zanuck did not want to change the formula for Shirley, the "fad." For the audience to accept her and the films, however, they had to believe that off-screen, young Shirley was not being exploited, and that she was as sweet as America's darling was on-screen. Kasson, an academic, is nevertheless entertaining in showing justvhow genuine and yet cynical this phenomena was, and what it said about America in the 30s. Godwin's narration was clear and well-inflected and emoted. Worth the listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Leslie

01-01-15

Entertaining and Informative

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of depression era history, Hollywood lore and the story of Shirley Temple's meteoric rise - and fall - during the same period. The narrator has a pleasant delivery; the author's narrative is easy to follow. This is worth the listen if you enjoy history, gossip about early Hollywood and are old enough to remember watching Shirley Temple's movies.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

SAS Contractor

15-02-18

Great sociology

More informative and enjoyable from a sociological perspective than biographical one. Let every parent who thinks their child could be a star read this book.

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

2 out of 5 stars

Sharey

21-06-17

Not What I Expected--Academic, Not Entertaining

I had hoped to hear a more personal story about Shirley Temple. Instead, this is a cold recounting of Hollywood cinema in the 1930s with mention of Shirley, other actors, the social climate, and endless Temple movieline recaps. I was bored and disappointed overall and learned nothing new of any great import-- I've seen all the movies, I didn't need to hear about them all over again in detail.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

martha

07-02-17

Much more than just a bio.

Where does The Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top ten and my library is extensive.

What did you like best about this story?

It's breadth. It covers so much more than just the life a a child star